Secretary of State Tom Schedler asked lawmakers Thursday to once again consider scaling back the number of hours polls in Louisiana remain open. The proposal, aimed at easing the burden of temporary election workers, would require polls to open at 7 a.m., an hour later than is now required by law.

Susan Poag / The Times-PicayuneElection commissioner Lori Reid signs in voters Frances Ditcharo and Desiree Deville at Precinct 184 District 2 inside of John Ehret High School Tuesday, November 2, 2010. A bill expected to be debated this year would shorten the hours polling stations are open by one hour.

"(Poll workers) typically have to be out there at 5:15 to 5:30 (a.m.) and don't get out until 9 or 9:30 (p.m.) if there are problems," Schedler said. "This is an effort to try to get shorter hours for them."

With polls that open at 6 a.m. and close at 8 p.m., Louisiana is second only to New York, which keeps the polls open from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m.

Schedler said pushing back the opening of the polls would have a minimal effect since those that show up early in the morning tend to be the most committed voters. The ability to cast ballots during early voting could alleviate concerns that

Previous legislatures have debated scaling back on the number of hours the polls remain open. But those debates have typically ended in deadlock as partisan groups worried about the effects changes would have on the turnout of their supporters.

To avoid problems this year, Schedler focused on changing only the hours when polls open. A steady group, which makes up about 10 percent of voters, tends to go to the polls in the first hour that they are open and those voters tend to be the most committed, he said.

"Someone that gets up at 6 a.m. to go vote at 7, that's someone that takes their right very seriously," he said. "And I'm only joking here, but I think you could make it to noon to one p.m. and they'd still vote."

The proposal is specifically aimed at avoiding shortening the evening hours when polls are open. Candidates and interest groups often push to get out the vote toward the end of the day and those efforts can push turnout in the last hour of voting by between 6 percent and 8 percent, according to the Secretary of State's Office.

Since pollworkers are paid a set fee regardless of how long they work, the move is not expected to save any money.